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Cyprus

The Republic of Cyprus is situated in the eastern Mediterranean. The island nation is surrounded by Turkey in the north, Levant in the east, Egypt in the south and Greece in the northwest. The northern part is occupied by the Turks since 1983. It is member of European Union. The capital is Nicosia (35 10 N, 33 22 E).

HISTORY:- Cyprus came under several kingdoms like Assyria in 709 BC, Egyptian Empire, Persian Empire in 545 BC and the Greek Empire by Alexander the Great. The Roman Republic occupied the island in 58 BC followed by the Byzantine Empire in 395 AD. Richard I of England, Venice Empire and several other empires annexed the land in different times. In 1571, the Turks invaded Cyprus and made it a Turkish colony. Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) led to the foundation of Britain military base in Cyprus. After the World War I, in 1925, it became a British crown colony. When the Greek population wanted to join Greece, they launched a guerrilla war against Britain led by the National Organization of Cypriot Combatants. On the other hand the Turkish population wanted partition between Greek and Turkish populations. Britain embraced divide-and-conquer policy in favour of the Turks. In 1960 16th August, Cyprus became independent. In 1974, Greek and Turkish Cypriots conflict thickened and the Turks invaded Cyprus to protect Turkish Cypriot minority. 30% of northern Cyprus was captured by the Turks. In 1975, UN-occupied buffer zone determined the separate Greek and Turkish territories. The Northern Cyprus declared its independence in 1983. George Vassiliou became the President to reunify Cyprus.

GEOGRAPHY:- Cyprus is located at 35 00 N, 33 00 E in the Middle east capturing 9,240 sq km land area and 10 sq km watery area. The island of Cyprus has 648 km coastline bordering the Mediterranean Sea. The lowest point is Mediterranean Sea (0 m) and the highest point is Mount Olympus (1,951 m). The island is composed of central plain with mountains in the north and south. The southern coastal has scattered plains.

CLIMATE:- The climate of the country is temperate and Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters.

GOVERNMENT:- Cyprus is a republic. The country is split into 4 regions:

1. The Republic in southern Cyprus.

2. The Turkish occupied northern Cyprus.

3. UN Green line which demarks the partition between the south and north Cyprus.

4. Two UK controlled areas- Akrotiri and Dhekelia.

The constitution was adopted on 16th August 1960. The system is based on the English common law. The three branches of the government are:

Executive branch comprises the President (chief of state, head of government), the vice President, and cabinet. The president and vice president jointly appoint the Council of Ministers.

Legislative branch comprises the unicameral parliament in government controlled area (House of Representatives of 80 seats), in Turk controlled area (Assembly of the Republic of 50seats).

Judicial branch comprises the Supreme Court. In the Turkish Cyprus there is also a Supreme Court. The president and vice president again jointly appoint the judges.

The state-controlled area has political parties like Democratic Party, Democratic Rally, European Democracy, Fighting Democratic Movement etc. the Turkish-governed area has political parties like Communal Liberation Party, Cyprus Socialist Party, Freedom and Reform Party, National Unity Party etc. Suffrage is universal at 18.

President Dimitris Christofia

Vice President Vacant

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS:- Cyprus id decomposed into 6 districts:

Nicosia, Famagusta, Kyrenia, Larnaca, Limassol and Paphos.

CULTURE:- Greek influences are prominent in the music accompanied by lute, violin. Evagoras Karageorgis, Marios Tokas, Solon Michaelides, Savvas Salides are the traditional music composers. Sousta, syrtos, zeibekikos, tatsia, and the kartsilamas are the dance forms. Among the popular artists of Cyprus Rhea Bailey, Mihail Kkasialos, Theodoulos Gregoriou, Helene Black, George Skoteinos, are notable. Nicos Nicolaides, Stylianos Atteshlis, Altheides and also Demetris Th. Gotsis are famous writers of the nation. Halloumi cheese originates from Cyprus. Basketball, Badminton, Football, Cricket, Rugby and Volleyball are the most popular sports of Cyprus.

ECONOMY:- Tourism, financial services, and real estate are the pillars of the economy. State-controlled area has a market economy. The per capita GDP of Cyprus is the 3rd highest in European Union.

GDP/PPP:

Greek Cyprus: (2007 est.): $21.41 billion; $27,100 per capita.

Turkish Cyprus (2007 est.): $4.54 billion; $7,135 per capita (2007 est.).

Real growth rate:

Greek Cyprus: 3.9%;

Turkish Cyprus: 10.6%.

Inflation:

Greek Cyprus: 2.3% (2007 est.);

Turkish Cyprus: 9.1% (2004 est.).

Unemployment:

Greek Cyprus: 3.8% (2005 est.);

Turkish Cyprus 5.6% (2004 est.).

Arable land: 10.8%.

Agriculture: citrus, vegetables, barley, grapes, olives, vegetables; poultry, pork, lamb; dairy, cheese.

Labor force:

Greek Cyprus: 380,000; Greek Cypriot area: agriculture 7.4%, industry 38.2%, services 54.4%;

Turkish Cyprus: 95,025 (2006 est.); Turkish Cypriot area: agriculture 14.5%, industry 29%, services 56.5% (2004 est.).

Industries: tourism, food and beverage processing, cement and gypsum production, ship repair and refurbishment, textiles, light chemicals, metal products, wood, paper, stone, clay products.

Budget:

Revenues:: $9.996 billion

Expenditures:: $9.304 billion (2007 est.)

Public debt: 59.6% of GDP (2007 est.)

Debt - external: $27.69 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Natural resources: copper, pyrites, asbestos, gypsum, timber, salt, marble, clay earth pigment.

Exports:

Greek Cyprus: $1.5 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.): citrus, potatoes, pharmaceuticals, cement, clothing and cigarettes;

Turkish Cyprus: $69 million f.o.b. (2007 est.): citrus, potatoes, textiles.

Imports:

Greek Cyprus: $6.9 billion (f.o.b., 2007 est.): consumer goods, petroleum and lubricants, intermediate goods, machinery, transport equipment;

Turkish Cyprus: $415.2 million (f.o.b., 2007 est.): vehicles, fuel, cigarettes, food, minerals, chemicals, machinery.

Major trading partners: UK, Greece, Germany, UAE, France, Italy, Japan, Israel, Netherlands, China (2006).

Monetary unit: Euro

LANGUAGE:- Greek, Turkish both are official languages. English is also spoken.

CITIES:- The capital of the government-controlled area Nicosia (Lefkosia, Lefkosa) is the largest city. Other large cities are Limassol, Larnaca, Famagusta, Paphos, Kyrenia, Morphou.

POPULATION:- The estimated population is 788,457 with a growth rate of 0.5%.

Density per sq mi: 221

Literacy rate: 98% (2003 est.)

RACE:-

Greek 77%

Turkish 18%

Other 5% (2001)

RELIGION:-

Greek Orthodox 78%

Islam 18%, Maronite

Other (includes Maronite and Armenian Apostolic) 4%

HEALTH:-

Birth rate: 12.56 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate: 7.76 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 6.75 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 78.15 years

Total expenditure on health per capita (Intl $, 2005): 1,523

UNICEF:- UNICEF is not active in the country.

TRANSPORTATION:-

Railways: 0 km.

Highways: total: Greek Cypriot area: 12,280 km; Turkish Cypriot area: 2,350 km (2005); Ports and harbors: Famagusta, Kyrenia, Larnaca, Limassol, Vasilikos.

Airports: 16 (2007).

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